Towards theory building in manufacturing flexibility

Abstract

This study consolidates and extends previous research to propose a theoretical framework of manufacturing¯exibility. The framework proposes antecedent roles for manufacturing¯exibilities in supporting a range of agility-related manufacturing priorities; suggests how such manufacturing¯exibilities can be developed; and relates the e ects of alignment between¯exibility-facilitated manufacturing outcomes and business strategy on ®rm performance. A questionnaire was administered to 1700 senior level managers in manufacturing ®rms, with 322 valid surveys returned for data analysis. The results support the framework, and suggest that di erent manufacturing priorities can be facilitated through the development of speci®c manufacturing¯exibilities. The results also indicate that these manufacturing¯exibilities can be acquired through the development of purchasing competence in a ®rm. The data provide partial support for a relationship between congruity in manufacturing and business goals, and ®rm performance.

An empirical investigation of the impact of strategic sourcing and flexibility on firm's supply chain agility

“…Narasimhan and Das, 1999a;Das, 2001). Das (2001), for instance, has shown that internal integration of purchasing may improve product design-related flexibility.…”

“…Narasimhan and Das, 1999a;Das, 2001). Das (2001), for instance, has shown that internal integration of purchasing may improve product design-related flexibility. Likewise, it may be surmised that stronger external integration, enabled by strategic sourcing, may result in more effective co-design of products and processes with suppliers and, in the process, may help build strategic flexibility.…”

The Influence of Tactical Flexibilities on the Competitive Advantage of a Firm: An Empirical Study on Jordanian Industrial Companies

“…company size, organizational level, industry type, etc) on the relationship between tactical flexibilities and competitive advantage. Sethi and sethi, 1990, Das, 2001, Kara et al, 2002, Chang et al, 2003, Salvador, et al, 2007 Mix flexibility (independent)…”

New flexibility drivers for manufacturing, supply chain and service operations

“…Flexibility refers to the ability of a system to change (adapt) in dynamic environments. Operational system flexibility has been studied extensively in the manufacturing, service and supply chain literature from various strategic, tactical and operative perspectives (Slack 1987;Bordoloi, Cooper, and Matsuo 1999;Koste and Malhotra 1999;D'Souza and Williams 2000;Das 2001;Van Mieghem 2003;Zhang, Vonderembse, and Lim 2003;Wu, Erkoc, and Karabuk 2005;Alp and Tan 2008;Chang 2012;Jain et al 2013;Choi, Cheng, and Zhao 2016;Cobb 2016;Ivanov, Tsipoulanidis and Schönberger 2017).A substantive part of this research studies capacity flexibility, classifying investigations into two main areas, i.e. decisions on investment in dedicated versus flexible capacity (Li and Tirupati 1994;Bish, Muriel, and Biller 2005), and process flexibility (or capacity adaptability).…”